There are multiple surgical techniques for treating a clouding of the eye lens, which is referred to as a cataract in medicine. The most widespread technique is phacoemulsification, in which a thin tube is introduced into the diseased lens and induced to make vibrations by ultrasound. As a result of the vibrations, the hard lens is broken up or emulsified into small particles, which can be aspirated through the tube with a pump. A rinsing fluid (irrigation fluid) is supplied during this process, with the aspiration of the particles and of the fluid taking place through an aspiration line connected to the tube. When the lens has been completely emulsified and removed, a new artificial lens can be inserted into the empty capsular bag, and a patient treated in this way can re-attain good vision.
The artificial lens, which is referred to as intraocular lens, is inserted by an intraocular lens supply system. The intraocular lens supply system has a cannula, through which the intraocular lens is advanced by a plunger and inserted into the capsular bag of the patient. To keep the injury to the cornea as limited as possible, the diameter of the cannula, for example being 1.6 mm, is very small. However, such a small diameter requires the intraocular lens to be conveyed through the cannula in a rolled-up state. In order to be able to roll-up the intraocular lens, the intraocular lens is made of a soft material, which is usually a polymer. The material selection firstly influences the ability of the intraocular lens to be rolled-up in a tight cannula; secondly, it influences the elasticity of the intraocular lens during the advance in the cannula. These properties depend significantly on the temperature of the material of the intraocular lens. A temperature that is too low can lead to tears in the intraocular lens during the advance in the cannula, while a temperature that is too high may cause a permanent deformation of the intraocular lens.
United States Patent Application Publication No. 2008/097460 describes a heatable intraocular lens supply system, by which a desired temperature for the intraocular lens can be obtained. To this end, it is necessary to provide electrical connections and an energy source. Because of contacting problems, the electrical connections may fail, and, as a result, the heating may completely fail. If the energy source is a battery, this may significantly increase the weight of the intraocular lens supply system. Moreover, the use duration of batteries is limited, and so it may happen that the energy supply reduces or is no longer available during an operation. If an energy source is provided outside of the intraocular lens supply system, electrical connection cables are required. These cables have a negative impact on the handling of the intraocular lens supply system. In order to obtain the desired temperature for the intraocular lens, a temperature setting and, possibly, a sensor system for reaching the target temperature are required. This significantly increases the technical outlay for an intraocular lens supply system. A closed-loop control of the desired temperature increases the technical outlay even more.